Worth Upgrading?

Hey All

I currently run the following specs:

AMD 64 3000+ (Overclocked to 2.2ghz)
1gb RAM
Radeon 9800pro

Recently ive been getting loads of artifacts (on every game now) at default clocks on my gpu.

I cant afford to get a whole new computer, so i was looking to upgrade my graphics card to a Radeon X1600PRO or XT, and i was wondering wether it was worth the upgrade from my 9800pro, or wether i should wait for a year or so and get a whole new system

Any opinions welcome By the by, my budget is £100 TOPS... 17 years old with no job... sucks lol

your card is going bye-bye.

replace as soon as possible with what you can afford.

note

you might reseat the video card ( turn off pc as someone didnt a while ago) and see if a bad contact is there.

but artifacts are usually one step from gone.

have you tried UNDERclocking it?

what other games are you playing??

Toss out the normal stuff here:

1. Clean off the card, excessive dust can clog up the fan and insulate heat, causing the card to artifact when under stress.

2. What PSU are you using? As a very underpowered unit limits your upgrade choices. I don't mean just the wattage, list the name and preferably the amperage (found on the side sticker of the PSU)

3. What is the temperature of the card under load?

I have it underclocked a fair bit now and it runs with no artifacts..

Other games inclued Thief 3, FEAR, HL2, Oblivion

Artifacts on all... i think my card is one step from burnt out

i have a brand new psu in my computer (less than a month old) Atrix Extreme Power 500T

My mobo is always at a 30oc temp under stress, and my cpu is at 40~oc under stress

Well if you've isolated the problem to a bad card and you got about 100 pounds to burn, you got all kinds of options in terms of cards within your price range that will run GW just fine. I'll just tell you, your computer sounds like a dream compared to the celeron system I'm on, and I have zero problems.